It was a proud and emotional moment for Eseroma Bogidrau Veiliutaki and his wife, Olivia Bogiviti Veiliutaki, as the couple graduated together at the Vodafone Arena today, celebrating years of shared sacrifice, determination, and mutual support.
Olivia, who graduated with a Postgraduate Diploma in Forensic Accounting and Fraud Investigations could not contain her emotions as years of sacrifice finally paid off.
Veiliutaki attained a Postgraduate Certificate in Business Administration, Human Resources and Management and attributed his success to supportive family, especially his wife and their two children.
He told fijivillage News he flew over from Papua New Guinea to attend his graduation and he is glad his wife will join him soon in PNG to pursue her work.
Olivia, who hails from Mavana, Vanua Balavu in Lau says when she started her academic journey at USP, she was pregnant and it was hard to look for a babysitter for her other child because both their classes was held after work at night.
Olivia says they used to reside with her in-laws in Vuci and travelling took its toll because of traffic and they would arrive home late at night.
Olivia says their finances were tight due to the various factors so they had to adapt in order to pursue their school.
She says this graduation is dedicated to all their family members who helped them along the way, especially her parents in Labasa.
She says she is grateful to God for His blessing upon her and the family till date.
She says the commitment they made to support each other with their assignments paid off and was a key factor in their success.
Olivia’s advice to students is to never give up and when you rest, you rust - so keep pushing slowly pursuing, one unit at a time and never put a limit or stop to your education.
